A market correction in the third quarter, spurred by a number of global macroeconomic concerns ended up having a negative impact on the markets and many hedge funds as a result. The stocks of smaller companies were especially hard hit during this time as investors fled to investments seen as being safer. This is evident in the fact that the Russell 2000 ETF underperformed the S&P 500 ETF by 14 percentage points between June 25 and the end of October. We also received indications that hedge funds were trimming their positions amid the market volatility and uncertainty, and given their greater inclination towards smaller cap stocks than other investors, it follows that a stronger sell-off occurred in those stocks. Let’s study the hedge fund sentiment to see how those concerns affected their ownership of Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS) during the quarter.
Is Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS) ready to rally soon? The best stock pickers are turning bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund positions improved by 3 in the third quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI), Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD), and Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (NASDAQ:OXFD) to gather more data points.
Follow Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS)
Follow Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS)
To most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as unimportant, outdated financial tools of the past. While there are more than 8,000 funds trading at the moment, we hone in on the moguls of this group, around 700 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group of people handle the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by tailing their first-class picks, Insider Monkey has determined numerous investment strategies that have historically outstripped Mr. Market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.
Now, we’re going to check out the latest action encompassing Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS).
How have hedgies been trading Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS)?
At Q3’s end, a total of 22 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, 16% higher than the previous quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Richard Mashaal’s Rima Senvest Management has the most valuable position in Axcelis Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ACLS), worth close to $17.5 million, amounting to 1.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting in second is Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which holds a $7.4 million position; the mutual fund has less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers with similar optimism contain Ken Grossman and Glen Schneider’s SG Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Peter Keane’s Keane Capital Management.
